Adding value with a legal project manager

Lawyers are frequently being asked to do more with less. This is the case whether you’re a seasoned General Counsel as part of an inhouse legal team or an early career paralegal working within a law firm. Legal Project Management is increasingly being turned to as a way to overcome this obstacle and allow lawyers to focus on high value legal work to deliver for their clients.

Last year, we sat down with both Caryann Cook and Daniel Townsend for a Q&A on what it’s like to work as a legal project manager. This year, we’re starting off by sharing our Q&A with Nikki Suri where we discuss what value a Senior Legal Project Manager can bring to their client and how she became a project manager.

How do Legal Project Managers (LPMs) add value to clients?

I haven’t always worked within the legal sector, so I’ve been used to being the client and I think that gives me a good idea of what a client wants from their legal teams. I’m able to put myself in their hearts and minds to proactively begin strategic planning for projects.

Practically speaking, I would say that I add value in three main ways:

1. Let lawyers focus on the legal work – I’ll always be engaging with a wide range of consultant teams so that the lawyers can concentrate on the work that they’ve trained to be an expert at. While they do that, I help get the project over the line strategically and they can rest assured that the project management side of things is in safe hands.
2. Act as an advisor – You’ve got to be able to trust your gut feeling as an LPM because you’re working in a high-pressure environment. I try to make this environment a better place for my team to work in by calling on my previous experience and knowledge to help make big decisions that relate to delivery rather than necessarily legal matters.
3. Education of colleagues – My focus areas is Development Consent Order (DCO) projects, so a big part of my role is helping other stakeholders to learn the process for this. Helping to develop their career in this way is personal passion of mine.

What does working with DCOs entail?

A Development Consent Order is a legal instrument which grants permission for a major infrastructure project to be constructed. This means that there is often a large financial cost associated with these projects and this emphasises the need for proper project management.

LPMs are used to deliver these projects better, faster and cheaper for our clients and we do this by removing as many distractions or worries as possible for our lawyers. At the onset of a project we produce a central plan that everyone has access to and this can be used to shape strategic discussions, changes and decisions. Teams for these types of projects are often very diverse in terms of skillsets, so our job is to manage the human engagement involved to help everyone focus on what they’re good at doing.

What was your background before becoming a Senior LPM with Vario?

I spent the majority of my career in the energy sector, where I was a project manager for a large global organisation. I worked on a significant energy DCO project in the South West for 5 years, following which I was grateful to work across the UK and US as a trusted executive advisor supporting & delivering strategic initiatives in the UK and US for the Group Executive Director.

I then worked in a professional consultancy on an important road DCO project before joining the Vario in 2023.

How is being an LPM different to being a general project manager?

Obviously, working as an LPM exposes you to legal issues more than would be the case being a general project manager. You get to work with incredibly knowledgeable partners and legal teams who are also great humans, so you learn a lot about the legal issues along the way. The support from my other LPM colleagues at Vario has also been fantastic.

With DCO’s in particular, you are part of creating the future, which I love. It’s truly great to see major infrastructure get built and you’re contributing to making the planet a better place for future generations.

What advice would you give to project managers who want to become an LPM?

Be resilient. Do your research on the legal matter you’ll be working with and try to put yourself in the client’s world. This will help you to get ahead in your project management plans, put your best self forward, and enjoy what you do.

At the same time though, you need to be comfortable with not knowing everything. You’ll have a team around you who’ll be able to help you when areas of their expertise come up in that same way that you’ll help them when your areas of expertise come up.

If you’ve got a project that you think would benefit from support from an LPM please contact us and we’ll follow up with you. Alternatively, if you’re interested in a career in Legal Project Management with Vario, then please get in touch with us.

If you still want to find out more, you read our interviews with Caryann Cook and Daniel Townsend to see how LPMs can help add value to legal teams.